Tomorrow Is Cancelled
by Rincewind2.0
Summary: After successfully saving the world as the Avengers, our heroes have settled their differences and come together as a team. Or is a global threat the only way to make them get along? As a new enemy appears, the Avengers are called back on duty but this time things don't go as smoothly as before.
1. Chapter 1

_**Like practically everyone else, I loved The Avengers- movie, I've always been into superheroes and comics but they don't really sell them that much in here in Finland so I haven't really grown up with them. But I've made it up now by watching all these superhero-movies and the cartoons, though I've been more concentrated on Justice League (nanananana Batman!). Anywhore, I wanted to write a fic about the Avengers- movie verse, I loved how they had managed to incorporate all these heroes into one movie and give them all near equal amount of screentime, it worked so well I was really amazed. So, here's my little fangirl reaction to this awesome movie, enjoy!**_

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**1. Before I knew you**

Steve Rogers was assaulting yet another undeserving punching bag in the privacy of his gym. The muscles on his arms twisted and corded under his skin as he delivered swift punches at the thick leather satchel, making the chain it hung from creak and complain. He had already lost the track of time, all he knew that when he had come down to his private gym the sun had been up, and now he could only see the darkened silhouette of the city drawn against the starry sky from the high windows on the opposite wall. Beads of sweat were running his face, he had already discarded his soaked through t-shirt and was now considering on getting rid of his cotton pants too.

Captain America's face was fixed into a concentrated frown, despite his relatively easy-going pace his mind was racing. It had only been weeks since he had fought with the Avengers, destroying a good part of Manhattan and saving the world from the alien invaders and Thor's petulant half-brother Loki. But it wasn't the epic battle that he was thinking about, the horrors they had faced weren't keeping him awake. It was the other Avengers, all these new strange people he had met and to some extent even befriended. _People like me, _Steve thought as his left jab made the punching bag swing. _Well, that's not quite right, is it? They might be different, exceptional even…But not like me. The only one who's even remotely similar is Hulk. _Steve smiled one-sidedly at the not so flattering notion. Bruce Banner was a genius, no doubt about it, but his other side, strong and incredible as it might be, was also nothing short of terrifying and slightly disturbing. Steve still wasn't sure how Bruce had managed to gain control over his inner green monster, but was nevertheless glad he had. The destruction he had caused on the ship had been so devastating it had taken them weeks to repair everything back to its original state.

_And what about fighting on par with a demigod? That would've been a sight to see. _Steve didn't really enjoy violence or fighting despite being a soldier, he just wanted to do what he felt was necessary to defend his country. Now it felt near laughable to think of the lengths he had gone to uphold that promise. This wasn't exactly what he had had in mind as he had volunteered to being made the first super soldier. He didn't feel remorse though. Sometimes just this modern age with all its quirks went way over his head despite that he tried to learn and understand it as best he could. He had been doing relatively well, until he had been teamed up with all these strange individuals. Thor especially had shaken the very foundations of his beliefs, being a Norse demigod from the legendary Valhalla, but only for a moment. The more he thought about it, the more his existence only strengthened his own faith. _If Viking gods exist, why not a Christian god as well? _Steve knew that there only should've been one true god, but he had always been for the freedom of religion, so he figured that as long as the people in the world fitted onto one planet, maybe all the gods could fit into it as well.

The Captain hopped few steps back, shaking his hands a little to ease the numbness that was slowly settling in. He then took one long look at the punching bag and stroke with his right hand, drawing it back and giving it proper leverage. The hit almost tore the bag in half and the chain finally snapped with one last creak. There was yet another dent in the wall as the bag flew into it, then sagged down to the floor and burst open, sand slowly starting to drain from it to the dusty floor. Steve sighed, glancing behind him at the row of punching bags that had been lined up for him. He turned to pick up a new one but then decided not to, hours of sparring hadn't calmed his nerves yet, few more wouldn't probably do any more difference. With a slight sigh he picked up his bundled up shirt and started to walk out, but stopped as he felt someone watching him. Steve slowly turned around, staring into the dark corners of the room. His frown melted away he saw the familiar glow in the shadows.

"Nice to see you too, Tony." First there was only silence but then Steve heard a frustrated groan and footsteps coming his way as Tony Stark stepped out of his hiding. The glowing projector on his chest was visible even through his clothes, a sight that still send shivers through Steve's spine. He was fascinated and frightened at the same time, he was amazed by both Tony's brilliance that had made his whole living even still possible and how he had seemingly taken the whole thing on his stride. But on the other hand such thing was so close to playing god it was near disturbing. _Though who am I to talk, I'm way past eighty and still barely in my thirties, _Steve smiled to himself as Tony walked up to him, looking cocksure and arrogant as always.

"How are you?" Steve asked him before Tony had a chance to say a word. The man frowned at him and snapped his mouth shut, glaring at the tall blonde from under his brow.

"Fine, thanks for asking" he finally managed to utter, seemingly still confused by the Captain's old- timey manners.

"I'm glad to hear that" Steve replied with a warm smile. He knew how much Tony hated his politeness that he felt was so forced and dated. Of course Steve knew times had changed and people really didn't bother with manners that much anymore but he just found it so funny to see the great Tony Stark caught off-guard for once. It made him so much more humane. Tony tilted his head to one side and folded his arms across his chest.

"You don't wanna ask me why I'm here?" he queried. Steve shrugged his shoulders, still holding his balled up t-shirt on his hand.

"You're my friend, you're welcome whenever you want to." To Steve's surprise Tony let out a loud laugh that echoed in the big barren room. Steve continued smiling, waiting until Tony was done.

"What's so funny?" Tony's laughter stopped slowly as he noticed Steve was still staring at him.

"Oh, you weren't joking."

"Why would I be joking?" Tony frowned at him, looking amused.

"I-", he started, but then noticed the glint in Steve's eyes and scoffed at him, shaking his head.

"You fucking bastard" he muttered as a wide smile spread on Steve's face, "I thought you were supposed to be the old gentlemanly type."

"Only to those who deserve it." Tony glared at him for a second, but then grinned widely, laughter rumbling in his chest. He stepped forward to slap Steve's arm, only to almost hurt his hand on the man's hard skin.

"Damn, I'd love to get my hands on that serum they used on you" he noted as he flexed his hand.

"Isn't one Captain American enough for you?" Tony glanced at him from under his brow.

"Well, you never know what might happen" he said and though Steve knew it was probably meant as a joke he wasn't quite sure. He knew full well that even though he was some sort of a superhuman, he was far from immortal. It was always a possibility that he might die in the next battle he joined in. Tony seemed to notice the trail of thought and quickly tried to take his words back.

"I don't think we'd ever find anyone to replace you, not that we'd ever need to." Steve smiled again, it felt funny and disturbing seeing Tony Stark almost squirm.

"There'll come a day when we'll all perish. It's just how it goes." Tony stared at him intently, now looking interested.

"And that doesn't bother you? At all?" Steve shrugged again, Tony's eyes were drawn to the way his muscles moved along the gesture.

"Everyone I ever knew is dead by now. I've gotten used to the idea that my time will come someday." Steve paused with a solemn look on his eyes.

"To be frank, my time has passed years ago. Now I'm just a freak of nature. And science."

"You're _not_ a freak, you're a fucking national treasure" Tony almost spat out, bit too quickly. Steve raised his eyebrows at the outburst, it wasn't often that one saw Tony Stark lose his cool like that. Even in the heat of battle he rarely even raised his voice, but now he sounded more serious than Steve had probably ever heard before.

"Are you alright Tony?" he asked, and was genuinely concerned, "Was there a real reason why you came here?" First it seemed like Tony was just going to throw one of his many quips at the Captain but then his shoulders sagged down and he exhaled heavily, suddenly looking very tired. Now Steve made a mental note of the bags under his eyes and his grayish skin tone, it looked like Tony hadn't slept for days.

"I- Pepper and I- We- Oh fuck it." Tony turned his back to Steve, his hands tugging on his messy brown hair. Steve was now seriously concerned, Tony was a very private person, he would never do something like this unless there was a very good reason for it. _Not even then, he must really be driven into a corner. _

"Tony, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know you're not used to sharing this stuff."

"You and me both" Tony snorted, trying to make light of his outburst. Steve took a step closer, he was now standing only inches away from Tony, slightly towering over him with his tall frame. With some hesitance, the Captain lowered his hand on Tony's shoulder, immediately feeling the man tensing under his touch. But he didn't pull away and Steve didn't remove his hand.

"Tony, if you want to talk, you know I'm here for you" Steve said with a soft tone, his thumb slowly sliding over the bundled nerves on Tony's shoulder. Finally the philanthropist playboy seemed to get himself in check and pulled away from Steve, turning to face him with a somewhat confounded smile on his face.

"Sorry about that Cap, lost my head for a second. Won't happen again." Steve frowned at Tony's deprecating words.

"Tony, it's okay if you got problems, everyone does. It helps if you can talk about them, get them off your chest. I know you…" Tony stopped Steve by waving his hands in front of him, shaking his head with a light laugh.

"Oh Cap, as much as I love this little Freud- act of yours, I think I'm gonna pass. There's nothing wrong with me that some good whiskey and a few frisky ladies can't fix. You should try it yourself." As much as Steve was relieved to see Tony back to his old self, he could still sense that something wasn't right with him. But he knew better than to push Tony if he didn't want to talk.

"I think I'll leave all that to the expert" he replied, "you got something else you don't want to talk about?"

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Cap. But no, actually I came here to deliver a message."

"Really? Why didn't you say so?"

"I got distracted by your charmingly existentialist notions and old-worldly behavior. But yeah, Nick wants to see you, ASAP." Steve raised an eyebrow, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"S.H.I.E.L.D? What do they want? And why didn't Nick come see me himself?" Tony shrugged, his mouth twisting to an uncaring grimace.

"Don't know, he just called me and told to get the Captain, so here I am. You need a ride?" Steve smiled as he thought about Tony's cars that were always flashier than the previous one.

"No thanks, I got my bike. Besides, your driving…It doesn't really suit me." Tony gave him an incredulous look from under his brow.

"Don't tell me Captain America gets motion sickness, because that would just be…Too funny. Hilarious in fact." Now it was Steve's turn to shrug his shoulders.

"I prefer driving myself. And I get to see more of the city every time, I still have so much new things to I haven't seen with my own eyes." Tony rolled his eyes at Steve's sentimentalism.

"Fine, have your joy ride. Guess I'll see you there." Tony strutted past Steve to walk out of the gym, the Captain watched him go with a smile on his face.

"It was nice for you to come, Tony" he shouted after the man, who merely waved his hand back to him.

"Just get your ass back to S.H.I.E.L.D, otherwise Nick will have my head on a wall." Steve laughed as he headed for the shower. Whatever Nick Fury had in store for him, he'd rather not face it smelling of sweat.

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_Continue, yes, maybe? I haven't really thought about this very far but if anyone is interested I might give it a shot. Lemme know. _


	2. Chapter 2

_**Though I am basing this on the movie universe, I might take some liberties and bring in heroes (Ant-Man who?) and villains that in the comics are linked to the Avengers, hoping that they would actually feature in the sequels too (poor Spidey).So if in time someone outside the movie appears, don't be alarmed. Also it's easier to me to use the movie's universe rather than try to catch up with all the comics and history of the Avengers, less likely to cock anything up royally. Though I'm not counting out that possibility.**_

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**2. Reminding me of many other nights**

"Natasha? You still here?" The woman in question was just lacing up her combat boots in the bedroom, she had discarded her usual costume as it was technically her day-off. _Should've guessed it wouldn't last._

"Yeah, in here" she hollered back just as she got up and hoisted her gun back to her belt. Her current partner appeared at the door, doing the exact same thing only with his own weapon of choice.

"Just got off the phone with Nick, he told us to get Bruce on our way there" Hawkeye, known more intimately as Clint Barton, told her. Natasha raised an eyebrow and pushed her auburn hair back from her face as she picked her knives from the bedside table.

"Why, can't the good doctor find the place by himself?"

"I think he just wants us to make sure he comes at all."

"Why not call Stark, they seemed to be pretty close after the last assignment."

"Apparently Cap was given to Stark, they're both on their way as we speak." Natasha uttered a small laugh as she thought of how that meeting had gone down.

"Is Nick trying to get us to do carpool, why not just call everyone and tell them to drag their asses back to S.H.I.E.L.D?" Clint shrugged, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe.

"Dunno, maybe to get us work better as a group. Have you heard from anyone after the assignment?" Natasha walked past Clint and headed down the hall, the man quickly following behind her.

"No, but I figured they'd all be busy, you know, being millionaire playboys and scientists. By the way, what about Thor, is he called in too? I'd love to know how Nick is going to send a message to a different universe."

"I'm not sure about him, but everyone else seems to be on board on this. Sounds serious."

"Knowing it's going to be our job to deal with it, it probably is." Natasha grabbed her coat at the door and then turned to Clint.

"You wanna drive?"

"Do you know where Banner is?"

"No, but I have a fairly good idea." Clint sighed as he grabbed the car keys from the table.

"Tell me we don't have to travel into Africa or Asia to get him."

"Not this time, no. He has a new playground, I'd think it has kept him busy." Clint didn't seem convinced and shifted uneasily.

"Are we talking about the professor or his…Friend?" Natasha raised her eyebrows at Hawkeye as they exited the apartment.

"Just the man himself, don't be frightened. You've met him yourself, he can be nice if he's in the mood."

"I still don't get how he suddenly got hold of himself after destroying half of our ship" Clint said as they walked to the car.

"I've seen stranger things happen. Maybe he just needs to have some pressure on him to control it."

"Oh like the end of the world? Good to know we can count on him in a tight spot." Natasha took out her phone as Clint started the car.

"Who're you calling?"

"The doctor, hopefully he'll pick up." Clint chuckled in slight disbelief as he revved up the engine.

"You have the Hulk's number? Should I be jealous?" Natasha gave him a stern look before someone picked up on the other end.

A sharp ringing right beside his ear woke Bruce Banner up. His head jolted up from his arms that he had been using as a pillow and he batted his eyes before seeing a soft glow beside him. His brain registered the item as his cell phone and saw that the number was an unknown one. Without thinking about it further he picked the phone up and answered it.

"Hello?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Good evening doctor Banner, it's Natasha. Did I wake you up?"

"What time is it?" Bruce asked as he tried to comprehend who he was talking to. _What is she called, the Black Widow? Sounds ominous, maybe Clint should be worried._

"It's about four thirty in the morning, listen, Nick called us to the base so we're coming to get you."

"Wait wait wait, Nick called you? Why didn't he call me?"

"I don't know, I just know we need to get you. Are you at the Stark Tower?" Bruce pushed his chair back and frowned deeply at the question.

"I'm not sure if I even want to ask but how did you know that?" He heard Natasha laugh softly at the phone.

"Doctor, I was spy for the Soviets, it's my job to know these things."

"You spy on your own colleagues?" Bruce asked.

"Especially on my own colleagues. We'll be there in ten, be ready."

"Hey hey hey wait, what about Tony?"

"He's already on his way, he was sent after the Captain." Bruce got up from his chair, ruffling his slightly greasy hair. _I really need a shower. _

"What is this, Avengers carpool?"

"That's what I said to Clint. I'm sure Nick will explain once we get there, he likes to act mysterious. Be ready when we get there."

"Okay okay, I will."

Natasha had already hung up before Bruce got to the end of his sentence. He sighed as he lowered the phone back to his work desk. The desk was pouring over with his latest work, scattered papers filled with sketches and small print. Working with Tony was…Different from what he was used to, he wasn't yet sure whether he enjoyed it or not. The man himself was also another element he needed to get used to, his presence could be overpowering at times. Plus Bruce was not really into all that stuff Tony did on his free time, though it was none of his business but still. Bruce glanced down at the sketches in front of him and smiled faintly as he ran his finger along one particularly fascinating piece of work. _But he is brilliant, I got to hand him that. _

"Doctor Banner?" Bruce flinched as Jarvis spoke up, he doubted he'd ever get used to Tony's omniscient butler.

"Yes Jarvis, what is it?"

"I noticed that you are awake so I have a message for you from Mr. Stark."

"Really, so he's actually gone?"

"Yes sir, he left to attend a cocktail party downtown, but he told me to deliver the message to you when you woke up."

"Aha" Bruce said as he walked to the elevator, rolling down the sleeves of his shirt, "so what's the message?"

"Mr. Stark told me he is sorry he had to leave but he didn't want to wake you up since you looked too cute when you were asleep." Bruce raised an eyebrow as the elevator shot up from the underground floors.

"He actually said that?"

"Yes, sir."

"And he told you to tell me that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Jarvis, you know Tony quite well. Is there any reasoning behind some of his actions?"

"If there is sir, it is not registered in my database."

"So there is no logic behind it?"

"That would be quite accurate, sir."

"Why am I not surprised?" Bruce sighed as he stepped out of the elevator into the brightly lit lobby of the Stark Tower.

"Would you like something before you leave sir, a drink or some food?" the high-tech servant asked him. Somehow Bruce found it fitting that the one person, or thing, Tony spent most of his days with was his own creation. Apparently Jarvis had been originally modeled after Stark's father's personal male servant. Personally Bruce would've preferred a real living person but this wasn't his house. Or tower.

"No I'm good, thanks Jarvis" Bruce said as he walked to get his coat, "do you have any idea about this S.H.I.E.L.D business?"

"No sir, I only know what Mr. Stark told me before he left to fetch the Captain."

"Well, what did he say?"

"I can play the actual message to you if you'd like me to."

"Yeah sure, why not" Bruce shrugged as he looked at the time on his watch. Soon Tony's voice sounded from the speakers, sounding bit too ominous to Bruce's liking.

"Hey Jarvis, tell the professor to haul his ass back to S.H.I.E.L.D when he wakes up, Nick just called me and told me to get the Captain, god knows why he can't just call the man himself, but I'm heading to that underground bunker of his right now, he probably won't be attending any flag raising parties at this hour, do they still even do that stuff? Anyway, I'm off to S.H.I.E.L.D, tell Pepper not to wait up, there's no telling what Nick has in store for us this time. I just hope it's not an extraterrestrial terrorist, those things are getting boring already. Oh, and say hi to Bruce when he wakes up, Nick'll probably call him too. Or maybe he doesn't want a big green monster to make another showdown at the vessel." Bruce smiled at as the message ended, typical Tony.

"Does that clear things up for you, sir?"

"Yes, immensely. Thank you Jarvis." Bruce looked out of the nearest huge window into Manhattan nightlife. The wreckage from their fight with Loki's allies was still highly visible on the streets near the Stark Tower, but it was getting better, mostly thanks to Tony's generous help.

"_It's my name on the Tower, I can't have all this destruction right next to it. Plus I need that sign repaired ASAP, Jarvis" _Bruce remembered Tony saying the first day they had come back to the Tower after their fight.

"At least someone has their priorities straight" he muttered under his breath as he saw a car speeding through the nightly traffic and slide to a halt right outside the tower's main entrance. He stepped outside, pulling up the collars of his coat.

"Bye Jarvis, say hello to Pepper for me" he bid before exiting the building.

"Goodbye doctor Banner."

"Good evening, doctor" Natasha said as Bruce hopped to the backseat.

"Isn't it morning already?" he asked as the car shot back into the traffic.

"Just few hours more, doctor, the night is long" Hawkeye replied from behind the wheel.

"Any idea what's this all about?"

"No, Nick called us and told to get you, and then get back to base. That's all we know."

"And he sent Tony to get Cap? I thought Nick and Steve were tight."

"They are, but I think Nick's trying to get us to work together outside the Avengers."

"We saved the world and then had lunch together, what more does he want? Tony and I work together on our projects, you and Clint…" Bruce paused as he tried to find the right word to describe the strange pair. Natasha turned around and arched an eyebrow at him.

"You were saying?"

"Well, you're friends, aren't you? That leaves Thor, and…Well, he seems like a nice guy. For a…God."

"A demigod, doctor, there is a difference."

"Which would be, besides semantics?"

"He's not immortal."

"And you know this because?" Natasha didn't turn around this time and Bruce was met with silence that said quite enough.

"Fine, fine, whatever" he sighed and leaned back on his seat, staring out of the window again.

"Why couldn't Fury wait till the morning, what's so important he has to drag us out in the middle of the night?" Hawkeye asked.

"We'll hear that once we get there, so if you want to know sooner, drive faster" Natasha responded.

"I'd go faster if he'd cover for my speeding tickets" Clint said, then frowned slightly and turned to Natasha, "you'd think he'd do that?"

"Just drive, Clint." There was a short silence as everyone was alone with their thoughts until Bruce spoke out.

"What do you mean, working together outside the Avengers? What could we do together?"

"I meant he might want us to get along better, you saw how we were before we had to rally up for the fight against Loki."

"So Nick doesn't think we get along, is that why he sent Tony to get Steve? And you for me?"

"I can't say for sure, doctor."

"Natasha. Please call me Bruce. I almost killed you, you've earned it."

"Is that what people have to do to get on first name basis with you?"

"Most people I meet have to go through that at some point so I'd say yes." Natasha scoffed and threw Bruce a quick look over her shoulder. The professor took a moment to admire her Slavic beauty, he knew he wouldn't have many chances to just look at her and enjoy the sight. Though he knew he could never really consider her as only a thing of beauty, knowing her capabilities and skills she could easily kill him right there where he sat.

"So no clues on what this is about?" Bruce tried again, rubbing his eyes as he tried to fix his brain to a level where he could actually think straight.

"As Natalia said, probably something serious since Nick called in all of us. Except for Thor, for obvious, space-dimension related issues" Clint replied as he turned towards the docks.

"Right, so another end of the world in sight?"

"Let's hope not" Natasha said, but her tone didn't convince Bruce. Besides, she didn't sound like she wanted it to be true either. _Why did I leave India again, _Bruce thought to himself as they rushed towards the docks to board a ship that would take them to the Hydro-Base. _Oh right, because they forced me out in gunpoint. That seems to have become a thing lately. __Just hoping that trend's about to change._

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_Okay, so we'll soon have all the heroes assembled, what's next? Guess the next opportunity to save the world. More on that in the next chapter!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Yup, took my time with this again, sorry. But some plot development here, excitement! Also, this doesn't follow any official Avengers- storylines but I did do some research so that some things are true but then again considering time lines and such this whole thing is just whipped out of nowhere.**

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**3. Choices are few**

The commanding deck on the Hydro- Base of S.H.I.E.L.D was quiet during nights like this. Agent Maria Hill was supervising the few people who were on night duty, keeping a close eye on the one man who had been caught playing computer games before. She heard the doors behind her back quietly open and then impatient footsteps coming towards her. Maria turned around to greet director of SHIELD, who was looking as peeved as would be expected from him this time of the night.

"Good morning sir." Nick Fury stopped and then slowly turned his head to agent Hill.

"Are you yanking my chain, Hill?"

"No, sir" Maria replied, trying to contain her smile.

"It wouldn't be wise to yank my chain, Hill, especially at this hour."

"I assure you, sir, that was not my intention."

"It better not be." Nick turned to look over the commanding deck, his one eye keenly searching for anything even slightly alarming.

"Anything special happening around here?"

"No sir, everything has been calm."

"Any word from our heroes?"

"Hawkeye called in just a minute ago, he is coming with Black Widow and dr. Banner."

"And Stark and the Captain?"

"Stark showed on our radar about ten minutes ago but then cloaked himself. The Captain is on his way."

"Alone? I thought I told Stark to bring him in."

"Apparently he prefers driving himself." Fury scoffed and flailed his hands around in frustration with his new subordinates acting like stubborn children. Agent Hill tried to control her laughter, watching a grown man trying to manage five superheroes was quite entertaining.

"Just make sure they get here, and report back to me. I need to make few calls."

"Yes, sir." Maria saluted her boss as he stomped out again, leaving her to supervise the commanding deck.

It didn't take long when one of the agents still on duty waved to Maria.

"Agent Hill, we have a signal."

"Put it on the screen" she ordered, leaning down to the command panel as the streamed picture from few miles outside the Hydro Base appeared on the screen. A car with three people in it, Hawkeye, Black Widow and doctor Bruce Banner, was already in the docks and quickly closing in.

"Agent Hill, we have another!"

"Put it on too" she replied, pressing a control to split the screen, and beside the stream of the car appeared a picture of Steve Rogers driving his motorcycle along the waterline.

"So that leaves Stark" Maria said to herself, cocking an eyebrow, "what a surprise."

"Glad to know I'm missed" a familiar voice called out behind her, making Maria spin around and her hand reached for her gun. Tony Stark was standing almost right behind her, his arms folded across his chest and head tilted in a smug angle. Maria glared at him, not appreciating the playboy genius's arrogance.

"You have any idea what Fury will say if he hears you just waltzed in undetected?" she asked Tony who had already walked to the control panel and was pressing controls, zooming the video stream and making the other Avengers' bios appear on the screen beside them.

"Oh, so she IS born in the 1928. Mind you, she has aged well" Tony said as he browsed through Natasha's bio. Agent Hill stepped in and pushed Tony aside, quickly hiding the biographies from sight.

"Don't you have better things to do besides spy on your comrades?" she snapped at the man, who was wearing that same arrogant expression he always did, like he was doing a constant show with thousands of fans cheering him.

"At the moment, no. I'm just waiting for Fury to fill me in why he sent me to run his errands and pick up the boy scout."

"I wouldn't go calling America's national hero a boy scout" Maria noted, though she knew trying to tell Tony Stark how to act was just wasted breath.

"Well, that's what he is, just wrapped in stars and stripes" Tony quipped, strolling around the command deck and keeping his eyes on the stream video that was showing Captain America drive his motorcycle in the underground tunnel that lead to the Hydro- Base, "speak of the devil." Maria rolled her eyes, how these heroes had ever managed to save the world was currently beyond her.

"I take it Fury is somewhere here as well" Tony said, turning on his heel to look at Maria in the eye, "or is he delegating all his duties to other, more busy people?"

"He's here, waiting for you to arrive" agent Hill replied, crossing her hands behind her back and giving a stern, professional look to Tony, "you just have to wait for the others."

"Right, right, awesome. So he's summoned up the whole gang, except for our divine member of course. Or half divine I should say." Maria picked up on the reference to their demi-god Thor, who had returned back to his own world Asgård, somewhere in his own dimension. The travelling between these dimension was still bit of a mystery to them all, but apparently Thor's father Odin was somehow able to sent his son back to Earth if need be. But how would they be able to send a message across dimensions? Their techs were still working on that little detail.

"So, what's the situation then? Has Fury faced a pickle jar he can't open?"

"You have to wait for the others, he'll brief you all at once" Maria said, turning her back to Tony. The billionaire playboy chuckled lowly and snuck up to Maria, peering over her shoulder.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked, pointing at the screen. Agent Hill slapped his hand away and shoved him back, but for Tony Stark just a glimpse had been enough. He tilted his head to the side, tutting at the agent.

"Not very nice to drop something like that on us on a moment's notice" he said, earning another glare from Maria, "you should really know better."

"It's not my responsibility to decide what information goes through to the Avengers" she argued but Tony merely laughed, an exaggerated and loud noise echoing through the command deck.

"Sure, so how long has Fury been sitting on this? I would've thought he'd know by now the extent of the powers threatening the Earth and not to mess with them" Tony said, pointing at the screen behind Maria, "and that doesn't look like some child's play like last time."

"You call destroying half of Manhattan child's play?" agent Hill spat out, but Tony just shrugged.

"In the end Loki was quite a measly villain to defeat, Hulk just smashed him in one go. Didn't put up much of a fight."

"What about the hordes of aliens flying around New York?"

"Did you see how they all just dropped dead after destroying their mothership? All Phantom Menace- style, what if our nuclear weapons hadn't worked on them? Judging by that, we can just always nuke aliens of they get too cocky."

"And that's bad how?" Maria asked, folding her arms on her chest. Tony's face changed into a more serious one, looking Maria straight in the eye.

"Because not all of them can be destroyed that easily. And I think we'll find these new guys are a lot smarter than the previous lot." Maria tried not to look shook by Tony's words and turned her back to him again, exhaling slowly to calm down her nerves.

"Looks like your friends have arrived" she announced instead, making Tony move his attention to the bigger screens showing how the car containing three Avengers finally arrived into the Hydro- Base.

"Great, that just leaves the Captain. Wonder if the old guy got lost and tried to swim here" he said as he watched Natasha, Clint and get out of the car. Natasha walked briskly ahead, closely followed by the always slightly awkward Hawkeye, Tony had the feeling the man would be much more comfortable lurking in the shadows than in the broad daylight. Dr Banner was fidgety as ever, Tony had last seen him just earlier that day, working away in the new lab he had provided him. He had been more than eager to put such a genius mind into good use instead of letting him run off to India again. _Still, I'd like it better if he would do science while being the Hulk, that would be awesome. _

"There he is" Maria pointed out the small figure moving across the screen. Steve Rogers' familiar tall, broad-shouldered form was zoomed in, his blond hair was tousled from being stuffed under his motorcycle helmet. Tony shifted his weight from one foot to another as he remembered their little talk earlier that night. Having Fury call him and being told to visit the Captain personally had been a welcome surprise, the cocktail party he had been in had already turned bit boring and going back home wasn't really an option. Tony bit down on his teeth to erase his mind of all distracting thoughts, this was not the time or the place.

"Goodness gracious, he actually made it in reasonable time. And in the right place, who would've thought?" Tony quipped as usual, flexing his hands as he thought whether the Captain would have half the brain not to bring up their discussion in front of the others. _It's what a gentleman would do…Then again, he said he's only a gentleman to those deserving. So basically I'm screwed. _

The doors to the command deck slid open again and half of the Avengers entered, looking more or less ready for action. Tony turned to flash them his winning smile, winking at Natasha. Despite their strictly business relationship, little flirting never hurt anybody. But a jealous boyfriend might. Hawkeye threw a glare at Tony and moved slightly closer to Natasha as he stood behind her, the Russian spy had already walked up to agent Hill and demanded a quick briefing. Maria repeated to her what she had already told Tony, all would be cleared once they got to see Fury.

"Sounds promising" Bruce noted dryly as he rocked on his heels, his eyes darting to Tony, "not serious at all."

"Yeah, maybe he just wants to have a really early breakfast and talk about the game last night" Tony added, pointing his remarks straight at agent Hill whose brow was already twitching. Natasha gave Tony and Bruce a stern glare over her shoulder as she browsed through the reports from the past night on the computer.

"Speculating helps no one" she said, turning back to the screen, "Fury is your boss, he doesn't need a reason to call you up in the middle of the night."

"I'd like one anyway" Tony replied, stepping closer to Bruce and lowering his voice, "you think she uses that same voice when they're in bed?" Hawkeye seemed to possess a superhuman hearing as well as sight since he threw a death glare at the billionaire, his hand already reaching for his trusted bow.

"Drop it Clint, he's not worth it" Natasha ordered, not even bothering to look anymore. Tony whistled lowly under his breath and leaned to Bruce again.

"I think we can guess who's on top." The assassin had closed the distance between them in few long strides and his fist was quickly making its way to Tony's face when it was grabbed by a strong hand. Tony gave The Captain an appreciative look as he let Hawkeye's hand go, the assassin stepped back looking disgruntled, stretching his crushed fingers.

"Sorry Clint, can't have us fight against each other when there are greater dangers at bay" Steve said, actually looking sorry as he watched Clint trying to straighten his fingers, "you okay?"

"I will be if he keeps his mouth shut" Clint snapped, still staring at Tony who just spread out his hands with an innocent look on his face. Steve sighed tiredly and gave him a scolding look, noticing how Bruce was holding back a smile next to Tony.

"You two need to spend less time together. Dr Banner, I was expecting more of you." Bruce snorted, raising an eyebrow at Steve.

"From what, a man who turns into a huge radioactive green monster? Give me a break Steve."

"Yeah Cap, give the man a break" Tony echoed, slapping Bruce on the back, "even us geniuses can have a little fun sometimes."

"You seem to have your fair share of fun already", Steve said, "and I wouldn't even want to go into what kind of fun your friend here needs." Dr Banner looked grim as Steve walked past them to join Natasha at the computers.

"Guy gets frozen for few decades and that makes him a saint" he said to Tony, "I don't frankly get it."

"And you're a certified genius" Tony answered. The men snickered again, earning a disapproving looks all around. Agent Hill raised her hand to her ear and nodded, then turned to speak to the whole group.

"Fury is ready to see you in the conference room for the briefing" she told them. All except Tony nodded and turned to leave, Ironman was still trying to sneak a peek at the computers. Agent Hill stepped in again and pushed him away, prompting him to follow the others.

"Just go already, you said you wanted to know why you're here, get moving." Tony quirked an eyebrow and pressed his hand on his chest, touching the lighted up generator under his shirt.

"Oh Maria, you are…So emotional, so enchanting when you talk like that. You should do it more often." Agent Hill stifled a sigh and turned her back to him.

"Just go already Tony." Tony frowned at her tone but then heard Bruce calling him and finally left. When Maria heard the door slide shut she let her hands unclench from the tight fists they had rolled into while talking to Tony. _That bastard, _she thought, almost wanting to smash one of the monitors but held back, knowing it would be docked from her pay. And right now, she couldn't really afford that.

Tony caught up with Bruce who was walking behind the Captain, Natasha and Clint were walking at the front.

"So, what do you think?" Dr. Banner yawned and scratched his head, shrugging his shoulders.

"Not really sure. Maybe he just wants us to go on some team building exercise, that's what this feels like till now." Tony chuckled quietly, glancing at Steve strutting in front of them, wearing that age old leather jacket again. He still looked like he was living in the 1940s despite being almost dragged by the hair into the 21st century.

"Imagine doing some trusting exercises with a former Soviet spy, that would be a laugh" Tony said, earning a low laugh from Bruce. Steve turned to look at them over his shoulder, the two scientist had their heads together like two scheming little kids. He wasn't sure whether the sight was endearing or frightening, That much brainpower could crash governments and take men into Mars. _Yet he chooses to fly around dressed as a metallic man from the future and the other hides in the slums of India. There's something wrong with that picture. _

Another set of automatic doors slid open to the conference room with a large round table, their boss was already looming at the end of it looking more gloomy than usual. Nick Fury's forehead was crunched into a deep frown, his brow almost biting into the edge of his eye patch. Natasha greeted him silently with a slight nod, Clint just exchanged quick glance with the man. The Captain did a sharp salute which earned another set of chuckles from Tony and Bruce who just trundled to their spots around the table.

"I'm glad you're all finally here" Fury said, not really sounding genuine.

"We're just happy to that you couldn't wait until the morning" Tony put in before Fury could continue, earning yet another glare that night. Dr. Banner was holding his chin against his hand, partly to cover his smile and partly to stop himself from yawning.

"There will be time for commentary later on but if Mr. Stark could for the moment keep his big mouth shut, we'd all be out of here soon enough" Nick snapped back at Tony, who just raised his eyebrows and leaned back on his chair, his eyes wandering around the room. Natasha's chest rose as she exhaled heavily, already growing tired of the billionaire's antics, by her side Hawkeye was making an effort not to look at the man again.

"What is the situation Nick? It sounded urgent enough" Steve asked, trying to keep them on the right track.

"It is, and thank you Captain for showing some interest" Fury said, again throwing glares at Tony and Bruce, "there is indeed a new danger, and from the info we have now it is possibly much more dangerous than Thor's little brother."

"Where is that drape-wearing headbanger anyway?" Tony asked, getting grim satisfaction from the way Fury's eyebrow twitched, "I don't really think the group dynamics work without his gorgeous blond hair around distracting us all. It brought balance to this testosterone filled environment."

"And if this situation is as dangerous as it seems, his hammer would come in handy too" Bruce added.

"Yes, the hammer, naturally. What is that thing made of anyway, did you get a look at it?" Dr. Banner grimaced as he was reminded of his close battle with the demi-god.

"I did, but I was…too distracted to make a comprehensive analysis."

"Too bad, I'd like to add some of those to my newest suit."

"Gentlemen" Fury raised his voice and interrupted the scientists' conversation, "your attention, just for few minutes."

"The floor is yours Fury, we're just waiting for you to use it" Tony said, gesturing with his hand. Steve turned to Tony and frowned, but only earned a wide smirk in return.

"Good. Now, I trust you all are somewhat with the tale of Atlantis" Fury began, turning his back to the table and crossing his hands behind his back. Captain America looked somewhat puzzled and glanced at the others, who all seemed to be following Fury's story.

"Um, I'm sorry but, that is just a myth, isn't it?" he asked, though he realized he shouldn't really be surprised.

"Captain, the S.H.I.E.L.D has actually confirmed the existence of the city of Atlantis decades ago. It has been populated by a humanoid race known as the _Homo mermanus_ but during the Cold War the US and Soviets did a lot of their nuclear tests close to their home so they have been almost driven to extinction" Natasha explained as if she was talking about the weather. Steve blinked slowly and then nodded with a quiet 'aha'. Tony chuckled and reached to nudge the Captain on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, there won't be a quiz after, just try to keep up so you'll know who you need to hit later on."

"For once Tony is right, what they're called is irrelevant at this point, what is important that is seems now that one of them is pretty pissed about it and wants to have revenge on the humankind for destroying his home" Fury continued, "and apparently he's been gathering up some friends to help him out."

"So wait, you're saying that there is some kind of a merman wanting to attack us because we nuked his underwater home?" Steve recapped, and flinched as he received another punch on his arm from Tony.

"_Homo mermanus, _totally different from mermen" he explained with a tut.

"If you want to make it sound stupid, then yes, that's what I said" Fury replied, now leaning his hands on the table with a grim look on his face, "but there is more to it than just that."

"Oh come on Nick, just spit it out already so we can all go home" Tony sighed dramatically, though this time Fury ignored his antics.

"This Atlantean possesses a Time Gem." Steve could guess from the reactions of others that this Gem was something of a big deal. Again he raised his hand as Tony and Bruce looked serious for the first time, if not somewhat curious, and Natasha and Clint were talking to each other in a low hushed voice.

"Sorry, again, but mind filling me in on this Time Gem thing as well?" The Captain asked, feeling embarrassed for being the only one around who had no idea what they all were talking about. _I wish Thor was here, he was almost as out of it all as me._

"With a Soul Gem it is possible to possess God-like powers, depending on the nature of the Gem. This one grants him the power to control time, past, present and future alike. It also makes him able to travel through time and even trap entire universes into a time loop. If this Atlantean decides to use this Gem on us…" Natasha paused to shrug her shoulders, "the game's pretty much over before we even know it." Tony let out a loud laugh and jumped up from his chair, being the focus of attention once again.

"Guess we don't have time to waste then, do we?" he asked, making Bruce groan.

"You didn't really say that just now, did you?"

* * *

_Apparently there have been some rumors that this Atlantean I mentioned might appear in the third Iron Man movie, who knows? Sounds like a cool idea, I'm learning so much from the Marvel Universe as I do some background research for this thing. But as said, it's nowhere near accurate, I'm just amusing myself with this. Hope it's a good read._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Yeah, this story has been on the backseat of my mind for looooong time, and I'm sorry about that. I hope I will update it more frequently now that I have fuck all to do in the summer, if anyone is still reading this. Hope you like the update, I know nothing much is still happening but we're getting there.**_

* * *

**Chapter 4. The one that steals the show**

Bruce's first instinct upon hearing of the new danger was to turn to Tony, figuring he would know more of this Atlantean.

"So, where do we start?" The billionaire drummed his fingers against the table, feeling the other Avengers staring at him as well.

"I need to learn more of their technology, and of these Soul Gems before I can say anything" he said, "so just give me a few hours." Natasha rolled her eyes at Tony's confidence, which was made even more annoying by the fact that the man could actually back his words up with real actions.

"I could dig something up about this Atlantean, I've read something about them but I treated most of it as myths" Bruce said, rubbing his eyes.

"Natasha can give a hand in that, she's well briefed about their situation."

"On the other hand, I could take the Atlanteans if Dr. Banner wants to study the Soul Gems" Tony said with a self-satisfied grin. Clint almost sprung up from his chair but was pulled back by Natasha, the former spy gave him a calming look. The archer wasn't pleased but sat back down, hiding his hands under the table so the others wouldn't see how his fists were already shaking. Steve tried to once again play the role of a diplomat and stood up.

"I'm also new to these Soul Gems, maybe I could assist Tony in his work."

"Sorry boy scout, but having you running at my feet will only slow me down" Tony said but then quieted down as Bruce nudged him and muttered something in his ear.

"On yet another hand, I might as well try to teach this piece of antique something useful" he said, looking at Steve to see if any of his insults hit the mark but the man's pleasant face was unreadable as usual. Tony looked away, disguising his uneasiness with more exaggerated mannerisms.

"So while we who actually can read do all the work, what about you?" he asked, pointing at Clint and Natasha, "Strut around looking good in leather?"

"We'll stay here and monitor the situation" Natasha was quick to answer, "We'll contact you if there's any change in the situation."

"We still haven't fixed the lab for Dr. Banner after the accident" Fury said, generously leaving out the fact that most of the damage to the ship's interior was done by the professor himself, "so I suggest you work from the Stark Tower until then."

"It's a party, then!" Tony announced, spreading out his arms, "Delightful."

"We should get going, there doesn't seem to be much time" Bruce said as he got up, then his face took on that slightly out of place expression he often had, "but...I need to hitch a ride from someone."

"Why don't you just steal a moped like last time" Clint said under his breath but loud enough for everyone to hear. Bruce seemed to almost shrink, the memory of the circumstance where he had resorted into "borrowing" a scooter wasn't one of his fondest.

"I'll have a car sent over, you can ride with me" Tony put in quickly.

"I could've driven you" Steve offered, trying to show some kindness against Clint's thoughtless words.

"And have one of the most brilliant minds of our time riding behind you on a motorcycle?" Tony asked mockingly. Steve had noticed that the man had tried to irk him the whole time he had been there, but had decided to ignore it. He knew nothing annoyed Tony Stark more.

"That's hardly the most dangerous thing he's ever done" Steve said back, "and I'd reckon he'd be much safer riding with me than with you."

"Are you implying that I'm reckless?" Tony smirked, "Tell me something new."

"He's saying people around you tend to have low life expectancy rates" Natasha suddenly said, seeming to surprise even herself with her bluntness. Steve noticed the slight twitch on Tony's face but it was gone in a second.

"Danger comes with the job. Isn't that the reason we're here?"

"I think Tony has saved much more people than he's ever put in danger" Bruce added, sounding defensive. Natasha's words hit home for him too, putting people around him into danger had been the main reason for his exile. Steve stepped in again, feeling how the situation was quickly turning volatile.

"Alright, maybe we should just get going" he said, "we shouldn't waste precious time."

"Why does everyone keep making time-related puns?" Bruce wondered out loud.

"It's also part of the job, comes with the outfits" Tony explained as he too got up from the table, "but the boy scout is right, we should go now. There's no telling when this merman is coming after us."

"Or if he already has" Natasha murmured to herself.

* * *

Steve stayed few steps behind Tony and Bruce as they walked along the corridors of the Hydro-Base, Tony had already sent a word to Jarvis to sent a car to pick them up. Steve took the opportunity to observe the strange dynamics between the two scientists. Bruce seemed more at ease when he was with Tony, probably because the playboy billionaire was one of the few people who treated him like a real person, not spending every second on his toes trying not to make the man angry or nervous. Tony even invited Bruce to his home, acknowledged his brilliance as a scientist and went as far as to regard his monstrous alter-ego as something interesting, not terrifying.

Steve wondered if Dr. Banner had had a friend like that after being changed into the Hulk, even when in the company of other people with similar abilities he was an outcast due to his immense strength Even Thor, who was half god half man, had been barely able to fight on par with Hulk, and mostly because of his enchanted weapon. Even Iron Man with his suit and weapons would be quite powerless against him, especially if Hulk managed to damage the suit and injure Tony himself. Still the man seemed fearless. _Or reckless would probably be more accurate, _Steve thought just as Tony turned to look at him over his shoulder.

"Keep up Cap, we haven't got time to lose" he said with a grin, and Bruce craned his head back in response to yet another time-related quip.

"Sorry Brucie, someone had to do it" Tony told his new best friend, "and you have to admit, out of all these sticks in the mud, I am the most entertaining one. The Cap said it himself, everything's a joke to me."

"If you say so" Bruce chuckled. The trio came to the lower decks of the base, where they could go back to dry land. Captain America's motorcycle was parked there next to the car Natasha, Clint and Bruce had arrived in.

"Where's your suit?" Steve asked, looking around the large deck. Tony gave him a wink as he walked over to one dark corner and seemed to search for something. He came back carrying a metallic briefcase which bore the same colors as his high-tech robotic suit.

"Handy, isn't it?" he asked them, tapping the briefcase with his knuckles. Bruce stepped closer to inspect the technology of the case while Steve stayed back, he still regarded Tony's inventions as something unworldly Living in near symbiosis with a machine, having to trust open an unreliable and unsteady energy source to keep himself alive, to Steve that was all very foreign. _Then again, who am I to talk, _he thought as he walked over to his motorcycle.

"Sure you don't want to ride with us?" Bruce asked him, though Steve could guess he was only being courteous.

"It's okay, I enjoy the scenery."

"Let the boy scout have his fun, driving is the one thing that hasn't changed since he was frozen" Tony said as they heard the sound of a roaring engine and Tony's sports car rolled into the hall. Steve stared at the car wondering what was wrong with it until he realized there was no one behind the wheel.

"That thing drives itself?" he asked, realizing again how stupid he sounded with his constant questions, especially in the company of two geniuses.

"It's merely the latest proof of my unbeatable genius" Tony said humbly as the car drove next to him and stopped, "step in, Bruce."

"Fascinating" Bruce said as he took the passenger's seat, "does it work with sonar?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets" Tony answered as he sat on the driver's seat and shut the door, "but I might tell you once we get back to the Tower." Steve fumbled the keys to his motorcycle, he hadn't felt like a third wheel this badly in a long time. Even Black Widow and Hawkeye weren't this bad.

"I'll see you at the Tower" he bid the men though he was sure they weren't even listening anymore.

* * *

Back inside the Hydro-Base, Natasha was fostering Clint, who was still seething after the meeting.

"That insolent son of a bitch" he grumbled as he stomped after Natasha walking back to the main command deck, "who does he think he is?"

"One of the most brilliant minds on the planet" Natasha said, though she knew that probably wasn't what Clint wanted to hear.

"And that gives him the right to be a complete asshole? Great" the man spat out. Natasha turned a deaf ear to Clint's further ranting, she would have time to silence him later when they were alone.

"You need to calm down, he's not even here to hear you" she said absently as they entered the command deck. Maria Hunt was still there watching the monitors which now showed Captain America driving away in his motorcycle, and soon overtaken by Tony and Dr. Banner in Stark's flashy sports car.

"That can't end well" Maria said to herself before she even noticed the two Avengers.

"I need the file on the Atlanteans, send it straight to Stark" Natasha ordered promptly, marching to the monitors and leaning down to tap something on the screen. Suddenly a loud alarm sounded in the room, alerting the agents.

"What is it?" Maria asked as she hurried to the screens showing satellite feed from the Earth's atmosphere. At the moment it looked as if a meteor had perpetrated the atmosphere and was heading straight to Earth.

"Is that a meteorite?" Hawkeye asked as he too peered at the feed that was now shown on all the screens.

"We don't have any information that a meteor was heading for Earth" one of the agents said. Natasha squinted at the largest screen which showed a zoomed image of the object currently heading straight for Earth.

"It will land in Nebraska!" another agent announced from their desk.

"Do you have any footage of where it came from?" Maria asked, pushing one agent away from their screen and started to operate the computer herself.

"We haven't received any warning of a meteor this size!" The doors opened again and Nick Fury stormed in, glaring at the screens.

"What the hell is that thing? One of Loki's aliens?" he demanded from his crew, "Get me some information, right now!"

"I don't think it's a meteor, sir" Natasha said, pointing at the live feed of the object already nearing Earth, "look at the trail." Fury narrowed his one eye at the screen.

"Is that..." he started, then almost slammed his fist into the controllers, "how does he keep doing that?" Natasha walked back to Clint, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

"Is that really him?" Clint asked as the agents still tried to track the object's course.

"I think it is" Natasha said, "looks the same as before."

"Huh" Clint huffed as the object finally hit the ground in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska, "should we go meet him?"

"Natasha, Hawkeye, get on the plane and drag that divine hippie back here!" Fury bellowed at them, "I don't want him wandering around like the last time!"

"Sure thing, sir" Natasha said and grinned at Hawkeye as they turned to leave for the docking bay, "Guess the research will have to wait."

"Agent Hunt will take care of the Atlantean files, you two just go find that walking shampoo ad before someone else does" Fury told them as they exited the command deck, staying behind to order his people around.

"This should be interesting" Hawkeye said as they boarded one of the jets, Natasha taking the pilot's seats.

"Do you think he has received some of the signals we've been trying to send?"

"From what I remember, his world exists in a whole other dimension so unless Fury has developed some very interesting technology I think he's just over for a casual visit" Natasha said as the plane started to ascend to the main deck.

"So you're not worried it's about his brother? Maybe he's escaped, again."

"I'd really hope they'd learned from their mistakes" Natasha said starting the engines, "then again, Thor has a soft spot for his brother, adopted or not."

"Even after he tried to destroy his world and ours? Some brotherly love."

"Family is family, whether you like them or not."

"So that gives him a free pass on everything, just because he happens to be the brother of the future king of Aswhatever?" Clint scoffed, "These guys are starting to do my head in." Natasha smirked at the windscreen as the plane took off, speeding off into the sky above the clouds.

"Do I sense jealousy?" Clint glared at the back of her seat, his arms folded across his chest.

"I don't think it's safe, having them just come in whenever they want and wreck the place as they try to do something. They have no formal training, they just suit up and run off to play the hero."

"So you think these superheroes who have saved the world are unprofessional?" Hawkeye narrowed his eyes, knowing Natasha was playing around with him. But he still took the bait.

"They destroyed half of Manhattan."

"While fighting against hordes of aliens trying to take over the world. I think we can cut them some slack" Natasha said, and glanced at Clint over her shoulder, "I remember you being there too, blowing stuff up."

"You can't compare few exploding arrows to Hulk smashing through buildings or Iron Man shooting missiles."

"Well maybe not, but how do you figure we would've fared without them?"

Hawkeye stayed quiet, knowing it was useless to argue about these things. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the help from other Avengers, he just didn't understand the hype. Of course they did heroic things, they all had superhuman abilities. If they weren't saving the world against alien invaders, they would be either very irresponsible for not using their powers for good, or then be considered villains for using their powers for personal gain. Clint himself didn't possess any other special abilities besides his dexterity, athleticism and proves with bow and arrow, upgraded with few props from S.H.I.E.L.D's technology department. For some he might be regarded as a superhero but standing next to someone like Thor, a demigod, who felt like the little boy picked last for the football team.

_And what about Captain, now there's someone who can inspire confidence issues just by entering the room. I guess that's why Tony hates him so much. _Hawkeye had been watching the two men fight over the leadership of the Avengers with certain interest, he could see why Tony wanted to be in charge, his ego couldn't accept anything else. But Steve was a natural leader, and more suitable as the face of the Avengers. Tony had cleaned up his act lately but still bore the stigma of a substance abusing playboy, and who knew what he might do the next time something went wrong with him? Then again Clint wasn't sure if Stark's whole personality was just a big publicity stunt, everyone loved a proper jerk who still managed to be so awesome you just had to admire him. He could actually back up everything he said, which made him all the more infuriating.

"Hey, are you still here?" Clint woke from his thoughts as Natasha called him, "Come keep me company." Hawkeye walked over to the pilot's seat, looking outside the window at the beginning sunset.

"It's beautiful up here" Natasha said.

"Yeah" Clint replied, leaning his arm on the back of the seat, "I never get tired of sunsets."

"Who would?" Natasha said and reached her hand to touch Clint's, "Thanks for coming along." Clint almost said he was ordered by Fury but knew that wasn't what Natasha meant. He grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Gladly." Natasha smiled and then glanced at their location.

"We're nearly there, just five more minutes."

"What if it isn't Thor? What if it's something else?"

"I think after New York we can handle whatever this universe has to throw our way" Natasha said.

"This or some other universe you mean."

"Exactly."


End file.
